User Reviews

Forever in his younger brother's shadow - William C. DeMille's approach to film was as different from Cecil's as could be. Cecil's style was grandiose, William preferred the intimate. Always wearing a battered old cap on the set, William was softer spoken, easy going and more humanistic and it showed in the type of films he made. He was more interested by the happenings and character of ordinary people. He cared more for the psychological realities than melodramatic action.

Lulu Bett is the "family beast of burden", Ina's unmarried sister, who cleans and cooks for the family - for no thanks, only complaints!!! All the little things she tries to do to give her life more happiness (little flower pots etc) are met with sneers from Dwight (Theodore Roberts), the tyrannical father. He is forever bringing up the fact that she is completely charmless and has no "special" someone - Lulu takes it very hard. One night, Dwight's brother Ninian (Clarence Burton) "blows in from South America". He is flashy and loud but has genuine feeling for Miss Lulu. When out to tea (the first time Lulu has eaten something she hasn't cooked herself) Ninian has Dwight, for a laugh, perform a mock marriage between him and Lulu. When it is performed Dwight realises he is a Justice of the Peace and the marriage is legal. Ninian asks Lulu if she will give it a go and she reluctantly agrees. After a week of happiness and being treated kindly for the first time in her life, Lulu finds out that Ninian is already married. It was 15 years before and his wife left him after 2 years but he doesn't know whether she is alive or dead. Lulu feels she can't continue the sham and bravely decides to go back to her family, who have been really feeling her absence. However their joy at seeing her turns to shame as they try to cover up the real reason for Lulu's return from the towns people. Lulu is disgusted at the hypocrisy but makes a friend of the local teacher, Neil Cornish (Milton Sills) who has always admired her. In a burst of confidence she tells him the real reason she has come home and when she falls foul of her family again, she reaches breaking point. Neil helps her emancipation by helping her find employment at a local bakery and the film ends with both of them looking forward to a happy future.

This is such a sweet film. Originally, Mildred Harris was announced to play the title role, but her divorce action against Charlie Chaplin interfered with the shooting schedule, also her wistful blonde loveliness seemed at odds with Lulu's drabness so Lois Wilson was given the part. She was just wonderful as the initially downtrodden heroine. Better known for her role in "The Covered Wagon" and to an even larger portion of the public as Shirley Temple's tragic mother in "Bright Eyes" she grows from a domestic family slave to a woman of independence and beauty. When asked about her favourite movie, she replied "Miss Lulu Bett - it was a character part and I loved every moment of it. Mr. William c. DeMille was a great director".

Highly Recommended.

This is one of the few William deMille films to get a revival and a wonderful example of an early woman's picture and tale of transformation.

Lois Wilson plays an unmarried woman and household drudge in her sister's home who is abused mentally by her brother-in-law. Her trap is one of economics rather than completely her own insecurity, as we feel that Lulu in the back of her mind knows that she has much to offer! She is exploited because that's all she's ever known, and in no small part because of society's views on unmarried women at the time.

There is a very clever use of props and title cards in this movie because it was obviously made on a small budget. In one scene where she's doing dishes with her would be boyfriend, a title card reads, "Doing dishes isn't always a bad thing." The scene then continues to a very sweet sequence where he asks her how to dry the inside of a glass, she shows him, and he thumps his head as if to say, "What an idiot I am!" The actors all do a very fine job with body language and expression.

This rare example of William deMille's work as a producer and director is based on a Pulitzer Prize play and novel by Zona Gale and is directed and acted with understanding and discernment.

Watch it to see the differences between William and Cecil's style and for characterizations that are concrete and empathetic!

Sunday, July 15, 3:35 p. m., The Castro, San Francisco

Lois Wilson stars as the put-upon servant of her older sister's household in this melodramatic gem, directed by William C. deMille. Dominated by bombastic man-of-the-house Dwight Deacon (Theodore Roberts), Miss Lulu and her mother (Ethel Wales) exist on the periphery of family life until Dwight's brother Ninian (Clarence Burton) visits and takes a liking to the shy, withdrawn girl. Lulu is also noticed by family friend Neil Cornish (Milton Sills), and shares what seems to be a mutual attraction. Ninian insists on taking Lulu to dinner with his sister-in-law and brother, where he jokingly proposes marriage. Dwight officiates an impromptu ceremony then realizes the marriage is legal when he recalls he is a justice-of-the-peace. To spite her benefactor Lulu agrees to stay with Ninian, until he realizes he may be married to another woman. She is forced to return home in shame, then lie in public about her marriage to save the family from scandal. When Lulu helps the Deacon's older daughter Diana (Helen Ferguson) narrowly avoid the mistake of eloping with her spineless boyfriend, a misunderstanding leads to Dwight believing Lulu is about to run off with Neil. He claims she is not fit to live with his children and Lulu agrees to leave. Suddenly, the household questions who will cook and clean if Lulu is gone. They relent and invite Lulu to stay and she releases all her pent-up frustration and anger in a furious display, overturning pots on the stove and smashing dirty dishes as she finally tells them off. Miss Lulu Bett concludes with Lulu and Neil professing their love when she learns she is free from her sham marriage. While greatly overshadowed by younger brother Cecil, William C. deMille was an accomplished stage director who proffered his talents in numerous films. Miss Lulu Bett is a fine example of carefully built momentum, a thoroughly satisfying pay-off and conclusion, without the need for cheap or salacious theatrics.

My first William C. deMille film and what a welcome change from those of his far more famous and lauded brother Cecil. Instead of grand epics, sex and violence, we get a little suburban tale of family difficulties, and in particular, those of the maid Miss Lulu Bett, who after years of neglect, suddenly finds herself in the position of having two suitors.

If you asked me what I thought an old film might look like before I began watching them, 'Miss Lulu Bett' would epitomize it: Homely, modest, a touch of romantic charm, a dose of family melodrama, an unhurried pace, where a kind of warmth permeates even the saddest moments, a sensitivity made OK by coming through it with an embrace and friendship at the end, and the safety of those four walls around you that might often seem dull, but have become as comfortable as those shoes you've warn for years, and when it comes time to sell, you realize like never before how attached you've become to it. Funnily enough, having watched many silent films now, I have seen only a few that resemble it. It shares a few silly moments not unlike silent comedies, and though William C. DeMille doesn't have the same instantly recognizable style of someone like Ozu, the subject matter is not so different from something you would expect to find in one of his films.

There are a couple of leaps you have to take in order to enjoy 'Miss Lulu Bett', which are, if not completely unbelievable, highly improbable - such as the manner in which Lulu and the father's brother become married, then the manner in which they become separated. The ending is also very predictable, and some of the characters border on caricatures, but for the few melodramatic twists, another comes along quickly behind to downplay or obscure it, and the result is a film that captures the complexity of family relationships, instead of simplifying them. Each character has ample screen time and their own motivations, and despite the predictability, the final scene is still very charming.

Were any two siblings as unlike as Willaim deMille and Cecil B. DeMille. the latter mostly specialized in historical epics ridden with spectacle. William deMille preferred a smaller canvas as one can tell from his most famous film, the adaptation of the stage play Miss Lulu Bett (1921).

Alas, though this is his most famous work, it is not as appreciated as it should be. Complete with excellent performances from Lois Weber and Milton Sills (two of the most underrated talents of the silent era), this is a low key film, really a feminist work. Its heroine Lulu is an unmarried, plain looking woman whose spinster status forces her to live as a virtual slave for her unpleasant relatives. After a marriage gone wrong, Lulu decides to gain more confidence and assertiveness. She scandalizes her small town when she pursues a handsome schoolteacher and eventually, when her relatives from hell try to force her back into her former position, she lets them have it in the most satisfying climax in cinematic history. A beautiful gem.

In many ways, this is like a bizarre Cinderella story. Aunt Lulu lives with her sister, brother-in-law, mother and nieces. Instead of being treated like family, however, she's practically a servant--waiting on everyone and doing all the housework. There is not a whole lot of love or appreciation for Lulu and she has resigned herself to this life--especially since she is quickly becoming a spinster. However, in a bizarre and needlessly complicated plot twist, Lulu is swept off her feet by a suitor and she leaves for a life of love and appreciation. But, she soon learns her husband is already married and soon is forced to return to her annoying family. There, the family acts as if she's brought shame on them and eventually they tell her they are willing to look past her indiscretions! At this point, it's clear that Lulu has changed and is unwilling to put up with this sort of contempt and mistreatment and leaves...for good. In a nice epilogue, she and the school teacher profess their love for each other.

I think the whole angle about the husband and his prior marriage really wasn't necessary or worked all that well. But, the film was excellent when it came to making the audience care about Lulu and root for her. She was a great character and Lois Wilson was nice in this role. Worth seeing but not without its flaws--especially since the characters too often seemed amazingly black & white and as a result lacked complexity and believability. Still, it's a nice little film.